Plating attachment for circular-knitting machines.



F. W. ROBINSON.

PLATING ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES. APPLICATION mm IAII.2a. 1915.

1,203.132. Patented Oct. 31,1916.

a! 16 1 FA UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK W. H QBINSON, OI READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASBIGNOR TO THE NOLDE &B038! 00., OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Ipeetfleaflcn 01 Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

Application fled mu 88, 1818. lei-la] No. 87,118.

To allwhom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK W. Ronmsou, a citizen of the United States,residi at Reading, in the county of Berks and tate l of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plating Attachmentsfor Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to platingl attachments for circular knitting macines in which striping-thread carrier fingers are employed each of whichhas a universaljoint mounti and a needle engaging swing, as shown inatent No. 1,077,304, issued to me Nov. 4, 1913, and in my ndingapplication Serial No. 866,579, fil Oct. 14, 1914.

The present improvement consists in provi means for intermittentlyoperating said gers in a plurality of series, during the knittingoperation, so as to reduce broken stripes having the breaks re tivelypositioned as required for predetermined embroidery efl'ects; as fullydescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings and particularlydefined in the claims.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation indicating a circular knitting machinehaving m invention applied thereto in connection wi a controllingpattern mechanism. Fig. 2 is a plan view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1showing the arrangement of the carrier fingers in different series forselective operation; the cams for imparting needle-engaging swingthereto being shown as withdrawn to inoperative position. Fig. 3indicates a stocking having polka-dot plating adapted to be produced bythe specific construction shown. Fig. 4 is a detail view of thepattern-operated star wheel employed.

The drawings indicate a knitting machine having a non-rotary needlecylinder 1 mounted on a frame 2, the usual rotary cam ring and otherwell known knitting mechanism not involved in the application of myimprovements being employed The striping-thread carrier fingers 4 aresimilar m general construction and mounting to those shown and describedin my rior patent and application referred to, having a, umversal-jointmounting 5 at the periphery of a sleeve 6, fixed to a central carrierabove the needlecylinder, andangidly projecting portion or arm 8 throughwhich a needle-engaging swing is imparted to 1t.

As in my previous construction referred to, the rigid arm 8 of eachcarrier finger is arranged to serve as a rocker-arm, through which aneedle-engaging swing is imparted to the finger by a contacting cam'this belng efi'ected by successive actions oi the cam upon an outerportion 10, and a lateral or crank-arm portion 11, of the rocker-arm. Inmy present improved construction a number of these carrier fingers (nineas shown) are arranged in a circular series around the central carrierrod 7 and these are divided into separately-operative sub-series byprovlding them with cam-contacting portlons arranged at differentdistances from the knitting axis so as to lie in one or anotherdetermined cam-path; those fingers which have cam-contactmg portionsarranged in a given path being thus grouped to%ther for selectiveoperation, as etermined y a pattern-controlled cam mechanism.

As shown in Fig. 2 each of the rockerarms 8 is provided with twocam-contacti rollers through which radial and latera swings respectivelyare imparted to the finger; said rollers having collars, ac, 66, 00, ordd forming the cam-contacti portions above referred to as being loca indifierent cam-paths. The collars cc of determined are all at onedistance from the center of rotation, the collars b b at anotherdistance, the collars c c at a third distance, and the collars d d at afourth distance.

The cam mechanism shown for selectively operatin determined fingers asthus grouped in di erent series, comprises two similar cams 15, 15 eachformed at one end of a rigid carrier rod 16; the other end of saidcarrier rod resting ugon a pattern-adjusted support 17 or 18 a apted toraise or lower the cam to operative or inoperative 'tion. These cams arealso adwstable lnto difierent paths as required for operating-uponcam-contactin collars a, a, b, b, c, c, or d, d, as desired. is isaccomplished as shown by merely providing a single adjustable cam guide20 ha tapered passage-ways 21, 21in which sai cam rods are movablelongitudinally in any position of the guide; and the latter beingadjustably set in a fixed support 22, as determined by a series ofnotches 24 so as to hold the cams in the desired pat The cam rods aresimilarly guided in a fixed bracket 25 adjacent the pattern-adjustedsupports 17, 18.

These ad ustabIe cam supports 17, 18, as 10 are set y the guide 20ferent paths by inder 3, and periodic rotary motion is imparted to saidshaft in well known manner, through a star-wheel 31 thereon arranged tocontact with a pin 32 when the latter is projected by action of patternchain 33, so that the respective cams will be automatically lowered orraised at determined times as required.

As shown in Fig. 1 the cam rods are held in slightly incline positions,to osition the cams for the inner paths M and M) respectively (see Fig.2); but as they are moved outward by the adjustable guide 20, theyassume a more vertical position u on the adjustable supports 17 18,there y slightly raising the cams when they are set into the outer paths00, dd and securing a uniform swing of the fingers without varying thesize of the cam-contacting collars a b c d The adjustment of the camsjointly into difa single guide 20 and by hand, as indicated, isordinarily preferable, the attern-controlled lowerin and raising of t ecams provided for, e ecting accurately and automatically the constantlyrecurring changes required.

The operation of my improved mechanism will be understood by brieflydescribing the production of a stocking having staggered Eolka-dotornamentation as indicated in shown, are oppositely eccentric ortions ona shaft 30 suitably mounted on t e cam cyl- The stocking is knit in theusual manner to the point at which the polka-dot plating is to ap ear.At this point the cams 15, 15 directly beneath the b b. The patterncontact collars a a and chain 33, is rotated through theeccentricoperated pawl 35, mounted on the main shaft 36 of the machineand actin upon the ratchet-toothed wheel 37 secure to the pattern wheelshaft 38; and one end of a lever 41 is arranged to fall into notches 3940, so that the other end will operate a bel crank 43 which normallyholds the pin 32 out of engagement with the star wheel 31. When thelever 41 is actuated. by a notch 29 in the pattern wheel 33, the starwheel is rotated by pin 32 so as to raise one cam 15 into operativeposition for the fingers in its path. As shown in Fig. 1, support 18 israised with the correspondin cam 15, lyin in the path of the contact colars a a, so t at only the alternate carrier fin ers 4 havingrsaidcollars will be operated %Fig. 2). he pattern chain determines thelength of the polkadots; and after a determined interval of plainknitting the other support 17 and cam 15 are raised by a furthermovement of the star wheel, so as to be contact collars bb in a fieren';path, the effect being to form the spaced polka-dots in intermediatelongitudinal lines. This alternate placing of the polka-dots is con-(aperative upon the tinned until the heel of the stockin is reached,when the cams 15, 15 are mov by operation of the uide 20, to theinoperative position indicate in Fig. 2. After the completion of theheel, the dots are continued upon the up er art of the foot, but not onthe lower hall; the additional contact collars cc dd being provided onlyupon the fingers which engage the needles knitting the top half of thefoot, and the cams 15, 15 being now moved by guide 20 so as too erateonly upon these col ars cc and old. he pattern chain then operates thestar wheel 31 to cause the polka-dots to appear only upon the upper halfof the foot in t e same manner as when the cams were actuating all thefin ers for the leg portion of the stocking. he pattern chain indicatedis arranged to make polka-dots embracing four courses at intervals ofabout thirty courses, in staggered relation, but this particulararrangement may be readily varied as desired. The attachment does notinterfere with the ordinary operation of the machine and when the camsare in the position shown in Fig. 2, the machine may be used forcontinuous plain knittin as usual.

hat I claim is:

1. In combination with a circular knitting machine, a plating attachmentcomprising striping-thread carrier fingers each having a universal'ointmounting and arranged in a plurality o separately operatableseries, and means for imparting a needle-engaging swing to differentdetermined series in different determined knitting courses.

2. In combination with a circular knitting machine, a plating attachmentcom rising striping-thread carrier fingers each aving a universal gointmounting and arranged in a plurality o separately operatable series, andmeans or imparting a needle-engagin swing to difierent determined seriesin di ferent uniformly-separated knitting courses.

3. In combination with a circular knitting machine, a plating attachmentcomprising striping-thread carrier fingers each having a universal jointmounting and arranged in a plurality of separately operatable series,and means for imparting a needle-engaging swing to one of said series indetermined courses and to another of said series in other determinedcourses.

7 4. In combination with a circular knitting.

5. In combination with a circular knitting machine, a plating attachmentcomprising striping-thread carrier fingers each having a universal jointmounting and arranged in a plurality of separately operatable series,and means for imparting a needle engaging swing to a determined seriesin determined successive courses and to a different series in othersuccessive courses.

6. A plating attachment for circular knitting machines comprising acircular series of striping-thread carrier fingers each of which isprovided with a universal-joint mounting and with a rigidly projectingcamoperated rocker-arm, the cam-contacting portions of differentrocker-arms being located in different cam-paths; a plurality ofoperating cams; and means for adjusting said cams into and out ofoperative position relative to the differently located cam-contactingportions of said rocker-arms.

7. A plating attachment for circular knitting machines comprising acircular series of striping-thread carrier fingers each of which isprovided with a universal-joint mounting and with a rigidly projectingcamoperated rocker-arm, the cam-contacting portions of differentrocker-arms being located in different cam-paths; a plurality ofoperating cams; and means for jointly adjusting said cams intodetermined campaths and for separately adjusting the same into and outof operative positions relative to said cam-contacting portions.

8. A plating attachment for circular knitting machines comprising acircular series of striping-thread carrier fingers each of which isprovided with a universal-joint mounting and with a rigidly projectingcam-operated rocker-arm, the cam-contacting portions of differentrocker-arms being located in different cam-paths; an operatin cam forsaid rocker-arms having a rigid carrier rod, pattern-operated means forad justing said cam rod longitudinally, and separate means for adjustingthe cam into one or another determined path.

9. A plating attachment for circular knitting machines comprising acircular series of striping-thread carrier fingers each of which isprovlded with a universal-joint mounting and with a rigidly projectingcam-operated rocker-arm, the cam-contacting portions of difl'erentrocker-arms bein located in different cam-paths; a plura ity ofoperating cams for said rocker-arms each having a rigid carrier rod,pattern-operated means for adjusting said cam rods longitudinally, andseparate means for jointly adjusting the cams into different paths.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK W. ROBINSON.

